Saturday, March 17, 2007

Mark Stewart Home Design of Portland partnered with the national ABC television program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to design a home free of charge for the family of an Army veteran in Lawton, Okla. The show will air Sunday, April 15, at 8 p.m. on KATU (2).

Company president Mark Stewart met with the home recipients, Gene and Peggy Westbrook, before designing their Prairie-style house with four bedrooms and 4.5 baths in about 4,000 square feet.

The family has special accessibility needs. Gene Westbrook lost the use of his legs after being wounded in 2004 during a mortar attack in Iraq. The Westbrooks' 9-year-old son, injured in a 2006 auto accident, is partially paralyzed.

Ron Nance, a builder for the Oklahoma project, expressed his admiration for Stewart's design.

"The home is beautiful, and phenomenally functional for the Westbrooks' needs," said Nance. "We were told over and over by the cast and crew this was their favorite home."